Many functions in the conventional ordering and design of custom prosthetic and orthopedic devices are performed by hand. For instance, a patient will typically have a prosthetic socket made through a provider (e.g., a prosthetist) having the expertise to assure that the socket fits properly. The patient is typically required to travel to the provider's facility where a handmade plaster cast of the patient's residual limb is created. The patient's personal information is then recorded and both the handmade plaster cast and the patient's personal information are then transported or mailed to a fabricating facility.
At the fabricating facility, the patient's personal information is entered into the fabricator's system and the plaster cast is processed and used to generate fitting information. The fabricator then forms the custom prosthetic socket according to the fitting information obtained from the plaster cast. Similar processes are used by orthotist and fabricators in the ordering of custom orthopedic devices or orthosis where patient information is obtained, handmade plaster casts are created, transported, and processed to generate fitting information.
Conventional systems such as these tend to suffer from a number of drawbacks. For instance, the casting and fitting process can require significant travel and/or require the patient to be at the provider's facility for lengthy periods of time. This can be both inconvenient and expensive for the patient. In addition, forming a custom prosthetic or orthopedic device based on a handmade plaster cast can be uncomfortable and imprecise, resulting in a poor and potentially damaging fit. These systems also can take days, weeks, or even months to fabricate the custom device and can include postal delays. Moreover, handmade plaster casts have a tendency to deform during transport, which in turn, can generate faulty fitting information and a poor fit. These systems also require manual data entry at multiple locations and times, which is often tedious and susceptible to human error.
Some efforts have been made to use computer animated design and scanners at dedicated facilities to generate patient fitting information for ordering purposes; however, such systems are stationary, expensive, limited geographically, uncomfortable, and inconvenient for the patient.
There is a need for a method and system for ordering custom prosthetic and/or orthopedic devices that is versatile, affordable, portable, and provides more accurate fitting information.